Dr. Ben Carson: Running HUD Would Be A Cinch For A Guy Like Me!

Dr. Ben Carson doubled down on his claim that having zero experience in housing policy is any impediment to his serving as Secretary of the Housing And Urban Development Department. In addition to his “qualification” that he “spent a lot of time” in the “inner city,” Carson now claimed the job would be a cinch because he’s a neurosurgeon.

You may recall that earlier in the week, Carson argued on Fox that his time spent in the inner city made him qualified to run HUD:

CARSON: Well, I know that I grew up in the inner city and have spent a lot of time there and have dealt with a lot of patients from that area, and recognize that we can not have a strong nation if we have weak inner cities, and we have to get beyond the promises and start really doing something. And also, the amount of corruption and graft and things that have - shell games that are played, we need to get rid of all that stuff and start operating things in an efficient and effective way.

Don’t you wonder if Carson even knows that HUD does a lot of work in rural areas? Apparently Fox host Neil Cavuto didn’t because he didn’t mention it when those ridiculous statements were made on his show.

Nor did guest host Sandra Smith when Carson appeared on The Kelly File the next night. Smith was almost giddy as she announced that Carson’s possible appointment to HUD had been trending on Twitter.

Carson confirmed that he’s considering taking the job. And he thinks his career as a brain surgeon makes him fully capable of running a department that, according to Smith has a budget of nearly $50 billion and 8,400 employees:

CARSON: You know, the fact of the matter is every job is very important but in terms of complexity, I can guarantee you that very little of it comes very close to neurosurgery, and particularly complex neurosurgery, and these things can easily be acquired and you can put people around you who know all the little details about something that happened 56 years ago.

Now that’s not important. What’s important is being able to take the information and process it and come up with wise solutions that solve problems. That’s what this is going to be about. It’s gonna be very different from your typical administration because Donald Trump, as a businessman, believes very much, like surgeons do, you take the evidence and you make your decisions based on the evidence, not on the ideology.

Smith smiled and nodded as if it was terrific news that a guy who could be managing a major federal department thought the job was just "little details." Instead of challenging Carson’s cavalier arrogance, Smith helped promote it. She said, “Critics say … he doesn’t have the experience to do this. What do you say back to them?” It’s a common Fox News trick: A host feigns balance by mentioning the non-Republican side, then quickly gives more emphasis to the opinion already being favorably showcased.

Sure enough, Carson got more unchallenged time to promote his completely unqualified candidacy:

CARSON: I would say, look at all the people in Washington who’ve had the experience. What a fine job they’ve done. I guess that’s why Donald Trump got elected. That’s what I would say to them.

Smith laughed appreciatively. “Fair enough,” she said, smiling.

Tell you what, Sandra: Next time you need your car fixed or need a root canal, why don’t you just have Ben Carson handle it? After all, nothing can be more complex than neurosurgery and he can get someone to give him the “evidence” he needs to take care of it.

And in the meanwhile, both of you should be ashamed of yourselves.

Watch this latest effort to destroy federal programs below, from the November 23, 2016 The Kelly File.

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Dr. Carson wasn’t interested in running the Health department because he felt that, while he knew something about health services, he wasn’t sure he’d be able to run the department (this from a guy who wanted to be President, BTW). But he thinks he could run the HUD because he grew up in an inner city? (This from a guy who was by all accounts able (financially and intellectually) to graduate in medicine and specialise in neuro-surgery.)

That’s a bit like me claiming that I could replace David Duke because the KKK once set a cross on fire on our front lawn during the ’50s. Sheesh.

When a surgeon removed my tonsils when I was a child, was his decision based on evidence?. How about lobotomy surgery? Carson gives us his guarantee about work he knows nothing about. Where’s the evidence, Ben? And where’s the evidence for you being some kind of non-ideological pragmatist, Ben? Here’s some counter-evidence. On economic issues, Ben ranks among the most ideological of Republicans: